WASHINGTON — In town appealing to federal agencies to allow some furloughed Coloradans to go back to work, Gov. John Hickenlooper said Thursday he worries about E. coli outbreaks and housing assistance being affected in the flood recovery if the federal government shutdown continues.

"These are people who are going through the worst experience of their lives," Hickenlooper said in an interview after moderating a conference for war heroes. "People think you shut down the federal government and you wouldn't miss it. But for a lot of people who are going through this once-in-a-lifetime catastrophic experience, they do miss it."

Hickenlooper said Colorado-based federal workers who would normally help with water-safety testing and housing assistance are not able to work. There isn't any support from Washington, D.C., either, he said.

While state officials have largely picked up the slack, he said, a prolonged shutdown is slowing down flood-relief efforts.

Frustrated by the shutdown, Hickenlooper has already offered to pay out of Colorado's state revenues to help the flood effort along.

Colorado National Guardsmen were going to be furloughed because of the shutdown, but the 120 soldiers working on roads and bridges repair stayed on the job because Hickenlooper said he would pay for it himself. The Department of Defense eventually deemed the workers essential and let them keep working on the federal dime.

Advertisement

"Each condition has a narrative behind it. It has real people suffering," Hickenlooper said. "Part of it is giving our congressional representatives, our senators, stuff they can talk about."

State health officials Thursday said they found no evidence of pollutants from oil and gas spills in rivers and streams affected by flooding, but lots of E. coli. They also said the risk of an E. coli outbreak in flood zones is very low.

Hickenlooper said he was pleased that Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, signed on to supporting a "clean" federal budget resolution without any ties to defunding Obamacare — the very reason the government is partially shut down.

Hickenlooper hasn't talked to Colorado's congressional Republicans, but said he knows they "understand the need for HUD and the EPA and FEMA. They're all clear on that."

What will change the current congressional impasse, Hickenlooper said, "is enough people pointing out the good the federal government does."

"People who are at their most vulnerable, who are going through awful experiences are not getting what they need and are being put at risk because the federal government is locked down," he said. "It's not the appropriate way to negotiate a compromise. It's almost like a hostage situation."

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.